1. Field of the Invention:
This invention relates to surface cleaning equipment, and more particularly to a surface blasting apparatus which recovers blasting abrasive and debris from the treated surface and provides means for washing the debris from the abrasive.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
A number of types of surface blasters have been heretofore devised which recover abrasive and debris from the treated surface and utilize various methods to separate the abrasive and debris, so that the reclaimed abrasive can be reused. Such blasting apparatus generally have a centrifugal blasting wheel which throws abrasive against the surface to be treated, and a rebound corridor to catch the abrasive as it bounces from the treated surface and to direct the abrasive back to an abrasive storage area. Air is drawn through the rebound corridor and passes through the stream of abrasive falling from the exit of the rebound corridor down toward the abrasive storage area. This air flow removes surface debris from the abrasive and carries it to a dust collector. A problem is that this air wash does not provide adequate cleaning of the abrasive, so that frequent stops to manually clean the abrasive are required.
In the previous surface blasters, various methods have been utilized to cause the abrasive to lose kinetic energy as it leaves the rebound corridor. This is generally accomplished by the abrasive striking a surface inside the apparatus with resulting wear to that surface.
Previous surface blasting equipment have also presented problems with removal of dust from the dust collector again resulting in frequent interruptions in service.
Another frequent problem with the equipment heretofore known occurs with durable surface coatings such as epoxy. Prior to the present invention, it was not possible to remove such coatings without severely damaging the surface itself.